Grey's Anatomy Finale Recap: The Goodbye Girl

Although the 10th season finale of Grey’s Anatomy will always be remembered – sniffle – as Cristina’s swan song, “Fear (of the Unknown)” also sets up some intriguing conflicts for the series’ return in the fall. Shall we run through them? Let’s!

PARTING IS SUCH SWEET SORROW | As the hour begins, Cristina is leaving Owen’s following a passionate pre-goodbye to pick up a European cell phone charger at the mall… which, shortly thereafter, is the site of a huge explosion! So, for the next (what seems like an) eternity, he – and we – are left to worry that maybe she’s been hurt or worse. But – whew! – she’s fine. Not only does she show up at Grey Sloan to pitch in with the influx of patients, she orders the newly available heart for Link’s transplant delivered in the middle of the chaos. “I just need something to feel finished,” she explains. Finally, she asks Mer to help her. She can’t leave on her own, she needs a push, which her person provides. After hugging Derek and exchanging a heartbreaking look with Owen as he’s wrist-deep in intestines, Cristina bids adieu to Richard and Bailey. Just then, Shane comes running up, threatening to badger his teacher until she allows him to come to Zurich with her. Okay, then. Outside, Cristina is surprised to discover that Mer has already called her a cab. Except Mer didn’t call it – it’s Link’s heart arriving! Naturally, Cristina wants to stay and perform the operation. But Mer won’t let her. Russell’s replacement, Maggie, can do Link’s transplant. Even after Mer gets Cristina into the cab, she hesitates. “Whad’ya need, an ‘I love you’?” she asks. “I love you.” And with that, off Cristina goes. Briefly. Before you know it, she’s back again. “We have to dance it out,” she tells Mer. “That’s how we finish.” So the BFFs boogie, Cristina gives Mer a list of instructions (including how often to mock Alex) and reminds her that she doesn’t have to move to D.C. just because Derek wants to. “He’s very dreamy,” Cristina acknowledges. “But he’s not the sun. You are.” Then and only then does Cristina leave. And happily, at the episode’s close, we get one last look at her in her fancy new office as she heads into her first staff meeting at her new hospital. She isn’t gonna be just fine, she’s gonna be amazeballs.

SPLIT DECISION | Off her last conversation with Cristina, Mer tells Derek that she can’t sign the papers that will secure their townhouse in Washington. Actually, it’s not that she can’t, she doesn’t want to. (Big distinction.) Refusing to be her father, “a trailing spouse,” she draws a line in the sand and says she’s staying put. Derek, of course, is furious. There’s nothing that she can do in Seattle, he suggests, that she can’t do in D.C. But, she counters, her life is in Seattle, and she isn’t going to leave it. Period. No, exclamation point. Your move, McDreamy.

KID STUFF | After Arizona delivers a surrogate mother’s baby, she and Callie share a light-bulb moment that suggests that they may still have another child. Catherine, of all people, reassures April when the threat of terrorism makes her wonder how she’ll ever raise a kid in this crazy world. And, out of nowhere, Maggie mentions to Richard that she’s adopted and that her late biological mother’s name is all over the hospital. Who was she? he asks. Ellis Freakin’ Grey!

BUSINESS AS UNUSUAL | Although Bailey’s day starts off in the crapper – Jackson reveals that budget cuts are shutting down her genome lab – it gets markedly better: Richard informs her that he’s recommending her for Cristina’s vacated seat on the board! Unfortunately for Bailey, Alex discovers that Cristina has left him a helluva parting gift: her seat on the board and her shares in Grey Sloan!

Okay, your turn. What did you think of the Cristina’s goodbye? Will Derek move to D.C. without Meredith? Hit the comments!

If people would only stop worrying about how DONE it all is and allow yourself to accept that it’s a soap opera… whether or not it takes place in a hospital, it’s still a soap and we all watch it for the drama. 10 seasons of the same ol’ drama says people like it. My question is, if you’re NOT a fan then why are you on this site reading this blog and commenting about how the show should end? And if you ARE a fan, then it doesn’t make you sound any more interesting or intelligent to criticize it for being what it is – a soap opera… If you’re a fan, you don’t really want it to end – it just makes you feel cool to be contrary; it’s an immature, internet age thing – you’ll grow out of that hopefully.

How is it that she is 5 years younger than Meredith but an attendee and head of cardio? It makes no sense. This is just like when Dan was gossip girl. Impossible. Even when Mer was like Christina maybe he’ll give you the job and she was like but I’ll only be a first year attendee or something like that and Mer said but you’re Christina Yang. Following the timeline of the show Ellis gave birth to her when Mer was 5. Apparently everything happened when she was 5. They started out as interns at 25 finish there residency at 30. Becomes a fellow for 2 years. Mer is 32 which makes her sister 27. She should only be a second year resident at the end of season 10. At this point she was already the head of her department for 2 years. She did tell Christina while being interviewed that she finished highschool and med school early. How early did she finish highschool at 10?cause that’s the only way it fits. Makes absolutely no sense.

My biggest issue with this development is that I have a hard time believing that in her Alzheimer fueled rantings and ravings (especially her Richard rants), Ellis never mentioned this. It is something that I feel would have been mentioned at some point, especially because of how focused she was on her love and relationship with Richard.

Easy to explain away. You never know what the brain can hide with Alzheimer’s. I’m wanting to go back and see if Ellis ever mentions her sister and seeing if it’s possible she wasn’t referring to Lexi, but overall I think this is kind of a “Dan’s been Gossip Girl all along” kind of situation

From what I remember about Ellis’ Alzheimer’s moments she seemed to be reliving all of her time prior to (when I assume) she got pregnant. You never heard her discuss any time in her life post-Richard.

My issue is that in season 3, there was the episode where she was lucid (wishin and hopin). She and Richard have a whole conversation about what their life would have been like if he’d left Adele for her. He’s the one to bring up that they would have had kids, and her response is kind of, hopeful?, like she never considered the possibility of having kids with him.
I just rewatched the scene and it kind of makes sense that she wouldn’t say anything but at the same time, it feels like she would have reacted slightly differently.

You are probably right.. And it seems obvious they didn’t have this “Ellis and Richard had a baby” idea until they were figuring out the cliffhangers for this season’s finale, which explains why it was never brought up before. These aren’t real people with clear back stories. They are fictional characters that can change week to week on the whim of the writers/creators. The continuity isn’t always going to be there.

If Ellis cheated on one man, who says she didn’t cheat on another? We have never followed Ellis’ every living move, so there are plenty of things she could have done that we don’t know about. Honestly, I think she’ll be Richard’s daughter, but one can speculate…

I like the new sister storyline. I think it’ll have to do with Ellis’s “suicide” attempt to get Richards attention, then she either already knew about it or found out about the pregnancy at the hospital. She couldn’t get the abortion bc of how much she loved Richard but she couldn’t raise it bc sh hates being a mom. Plus she couldn’t/wouldn’t tell Richard bc Richard chose Adele and if she did, she would always know it was the baby that made him stay in her life and not herself. Can’t wait to see how all this drama plays out.

I LOVE you’re thought process behind this incident! Not everyone here realizes, that characters like Richard, Ellis, Catherine, etc. have so much more that we know nothing about. I’m proud of Mer finding and reclaiming her voice, but this half sister incident is so not about her!! I definitely agree with Alison’s assessment, and I think the writers will be able to really dig deep and find a vast amount of character development here. Ellis has a VAST amount of back story to play with. The Richard pregnancy and give up for adoption is DEFINITELY great ammunition for the depressed Ellis’ suicide attempt. HOWEVER!!! The Only problem here, isn’t the timing of the pregnancy, or the age of the child, or the lucid conversation between Ellis and Richard… or any of that, but…….. ELLIS WROTE EVERYTHING DOWN IN HER JOURNALS, WHICH CHRISTINA READ, MER READ and most importantly, RICHARD READ AND KEPT! How did she NOT write THIS deep secret incident down?! Unless he merely skimmed them and is NOW going to go back in them and search for answers… This makes Richard seem so careless. He is really coming back into the spotlight and he is already the father figure of the hospital. While he was too busy being a father figure to a decade of surgeons, he has never been a biological father yet, much to the chagrin of the women in his life. He even attempted to play father to Jackson and Shane!! Maybe it’s time he gets a kid too! This will be fascinating!! While yes, this seemed like a complete afterthought by the writers, but you can tell this has been a storyline idea for quite some time: an ellis-richard love child!! Nods to this idea has been tossed around here and there in seasons past but now its the time to flush it out. What would he/she be like: CLEARLY a prodigy with a wealth of issues. Let the dark & twisty truths come out!!!!

your* thought process .. oops! & I LOVE CHRISTINA YANG. I was really avoiding all the farewell episodes, but when I finally saw this one, I balled like a hysterical baby. She was a truly one of a kind character in television, and she will be more than missed. She was my favorite.

Clearly she would have to be a prodigy to be Mer’s YOUNGER sister and be hired as head of cardio. Didn’t they bring up Cristina being offered the job as a fellow and how it might be a ‘bribe’ to stay…. Like she was young for the job or something?

Can we also keep in mind that Richard had a drinking problem at some point in his backstory. I don’t remember all of the dates – but off the top of my head, I’d think that him being immersed in drinking, trying to keep up with being a surgeon, and juggling Adele and Ellis would have made it quite easy for Ellis to keep her pregnancy from him. Just a thought.

It makes perfect sense that she wouldn’t write about a child she gave up for adoption. Ellis’ journals were mostly medical. She wasn’t writing about her life as much as she was writing about her work. And smart people know that if you want to really keep a secret, you don’t write it down.

How is it that she is 5 years younger than Meredith but an attendee and head of cardio? It makes no sense. This is just like when Dan was gossip girl. Impossible. Even when Mer was like Christina maybe he’ll give you the job and she was like but I’ll only be a first year attendee or something like that and Mer said but you’re Christina Yang.

This new sister couldn’t be Webber’s as she would need to be older than Merideth to have the job, per conversation when Chrsitina was interviewing, but Webber didn’t meet Ellis until after Merideth was born

Well when Christina interviewed her, she mentioned she graduated high school early and went to med school at a very early age. My guess is Ellis found out after Richard went back to Adele, hid the pregnancy, and gave the baby up for adoption. Plus, in early seasons Meredith mentions running around Europe with Sadie (I think that was her name) before deciding to go to med school. Meredith is probably slightly older than the other doctors in her group.

Black Entertainment Television no need to say TV twice. If you wish to insult a group of people at least do it correctly. Oh and creator of the show is black you may just want to stop watching Greys altogether. Wouldn’t want anyone to think you enjoy a show a black person created.

I don’t understand why this NEW Grey sister didn’t know that Meredith is her half sister in the first place.. Everyone knows Meredith GREY in that hospital. Her last name alone should be a trigger for intrigue.. :) … You would think that if you are applying to be a Head of a Department in a hospital, you would research who are the main doctors in that hospital and that Meredith Grey’s name would come up since she’s one of the doctors in the Board of Directors… And you would research why the name was changed from Seattle Grace to Grey-Slone Memorial Hospital. The hospital would have some kind of history in their website or brochure who is the “Grey” and who is the “Slone” in the name of the hospital. And I am sure that IF Ellis Grey’s name is all over the hospital as what Maggie claims, it would say that Ellis’ daughter is also a doctor in that hospital. Is she that blind that she doesn’t see Meredith Grey’s name on the white board they write on when there’s surgery/operation scheduled? Yeah, I just don’t get it that if Maggie did her researched to find out who is her biological mother, her research should show that Ellis Grey has a daughter named Meredith Grey… then you would think she would also researched her half sister.

I agree it will be more about Richard. One of the reasons Lexie was an issue was that Thatcher loved her but not Mer. Lexie had an amazing mom, Mer didn’t. This baby was given up while Mer was kept.
So there might be a bit of story there but with Richard…. Here’s a guy who has loved 3 women in his life, all of whom left him. And now to find out there was a baby! TONS to explore there!!

Ellis would have been good while she was pregnant at keeping it hidden, but I am curious how it never came out when she went on Alzheimer fueled rantings and ravings about her love for Richard. That is my big issue with this development.

Alzheimer’s is unpredictable so her not revealing this during that timeframe doesn’t bother me, plus, as another poster explained, all of those rankings seem to surround a time before she would’ve known she was pregnant.

I buy the hidden pregnancy and can get behind the new storyline, but they ruined it all by making her waaaaaaaaay too young to be the new head of cardio. If we’re to presume that she was born just after Ellis & Mer arrived in Boston then she’s a good 5/6 years younger than her half-sister and therefore only a year or so older than Lexie. In Grey’s time, that’d make Maggie 31ish (figuring Lexie announces she’s 27 in the middle of season 7 and it’s 3 years later). We know that Lexie skipped a couple of grades and was very young among her peers, but this chick is so astronomically more advanced that she’s a department head already?!? If they’d have made her a fellow, it would have come off as interesting and plausible but this is just ridiculous….

I don’t think the age difference between Mer and Maggie is as bizarre as it could be. Didn’t Mer go to medical school later on after college and if we are going by the actress’ age I think she is 32. Which might seem young but I assume (may be wrong) but Caliie and Arizona are roughly the same age so Arizona would have been early 30’s as well when she was hired as chief of paediatric surgery. And Maggie said she skipped a year or whatever so it is plausible. Still a bit silly though :)

I buy the hidden pregnancy and could get interested in the storyline, but the fact that Maggie is waaaaaaay too young to be head of cardio just ruins it all for me. If we’re to understand that she was born a few months after Ellis & Mer left Seattle, then she’s 5/6 years younger than her half-sister and nearly the same age as Lexie (at most, a year or 2 older). So, in Grey’s years, Maggie is 31 or 32 now (Lexie announces herself 27 in the middle if season 7 and it’s 3 years later). Sure Maggie might be a prodigy, but Lexie was a character that had skipped a few grades and was said to be very young amongst her peers and she’d still be a fellow right now… If they’d brought Maggie in as a talented fellow I’d get it, but this scenario is just ridiculous! So Mer’s new baby sis is now a department head?!? A position that Cristina Yang was barely qualified for?!?

Whaaaaaaaaaa? Are you a sociopath unable to form human connections? I don’t know about you, but when someone I know and love for less than a year leaves my life I’m a little sad about it. A decade? I’d be destroyed.

I didn’t cry either, but it was nice. I felt like it was almost what I needed to cry, but then kept pulling back. Too much other stuff at the end. The MerDer scenes and the Alex stuff, and the Richard stuff should have been shorter scenes, so we can focus on Cristina slowly walking away from her old life and reflecting. Maybe even a flashback montage. Maybe a last scene with Owen, or if that’s too sentimental, show her saving someone’s life for the first time in her new hospital. She would have been so joyous at that and embraced her new life. As it was, I thought it was “nice”, not run of the mill, but I didn’t cry either.

No one on set actually saw the episode at that time, especially as they don’t film in sequence. So I’m going to assume they cried because their friend and coworker, who has been there from the beginning, was leaving.

Another sister? Seriously? It is time for this show to die. It is clear that Shonda is out of ideas for this show and her focus is on Scandal. It’s been a great 10 years, but this is about 5th time that this show has jumped the shark.

The ratings tell a different story. I actually am not a fan of Heigl and think that the show could have been successful without her, but the show has been deteriorating. Really it has been deteriorating since season 5 with the dead Denny thing. I’m still a fan and I will still watch until the bitter end, but let’s not pretend that the show is anywhere near what it was in the past.

While I still enjoyed the show after she left. Katherine Heigl is one of the major parts of the success of the show in early seasons and without her, I seriously doubt the show would have achieved the massive success that it got. Her performance was amazing and won her the Emmy. Despite the off-screen drama, she did a great job on the show and is a fantastic actress. I don’t think any storyline on the show compares to the Izzie/Denny story arc she did in the second and early third season. That was one of the major highlights of the show. And while the Denny hallucination/cancer storyline in the fifth season wasn’t well received by many (It could’ve been a little shorter, but I didn’t think it was that bad), she still gave a great performance.

abz i agree, izzie went through massive character assassination before she left but you can’t deny that she was a dynamic character in her earlier seasons and was part of the reason grey’s was a success. I don’t consider myself to particularly be an izzie/KH fan but while rewatching episodes from the first couple seasons its clear that she is extremely charismatic on screen. The original 5 interns had amazing chemistry, to me grey’s hasn’t been the same since they were all together

Can anyone name a show (especially a drama show) that they think the best series’ were somewhere in 7-10? Or a show that got to 7-10 series without a few jump the shark moments? A drama series always has to be dramatic and for that reason there will be shaky moment because realistically 10 years of peoples lives can’t be constant dram without looking silly. That’s just the way it is, they either end these things early or continue on and jump various sharks along the way.

Wow! What a great episode!
Yang’s goodbye was perfect! I knew she’d come back after getting into the car. But that dance scene, WOW. Her last words to Meredith about Shepherd were spot on.
I can’t wait to see the drama between Alex and Bailey next season!
And Mere gets another sister and she’s Weber’s daughter? This exactly the new blood I was praying for!
But overall, I’m just glad Cristina is happy. She’s right where she belongs, exactly where a decade at Seattle Grace was always meant to take her.
I couldn’t be happier with this episode.

It started slow, but I thought Shonda did a nice job giving Cristina and Sandra Oh a proper farewell.

And now we have a black Grey? Lol. I would love to know how they are gonna explain what period of time Ellis had this kid where her husband, child, and obviously the baby’s father didn’t know about this.

You referring to her as “a black Grey” is a HUGE problem. Race issues aside, she’s hardly a Grey at all. She’s a woman all-her-own from a different family with much different experiences than what Meredith and Lexi faced.

Woah….simmer down. First off the comment was not meant to be taken seriously. And for the record (and not claiming it gives me any special privileges), I’m a black male. So there is no “race issue” going on here. And while I take my TV viewing seriously, its still just a TV show and I like to have fun with them too

amazing epi. I wish the last few scenes had a little more focus on Cristina, but they set up next season pretty well with Alex vs Bailey and Mer vs Der. I wish they had a speaking scene for Crowen at the end though. Their eyes said it all, but still. I wanted crying, a last hug, maybe a last kiss. Oh well.

Don’t disagree he’s a big part of the character’s history. Just thinking about it, he being in her very last scenes would have made it about the couple and not about the character, which to me was the most important.

Are you kidding me? How do people still believe that there could ever be a future between the two of them? Did you not watch the alternate universes episode earlier in the season? Yang gets absolutely nothing of what she wants if she stays with Owen. How can you, as a (presumable) fan, not see that?

You’re completely missing the point. The ending between the two doesn’t equal the love portrayed all season. You think Owen is just going to deal with that good bye? Do you think Cristina would leave him like that? Nope.

I didn’t want her to stay as it made no sense. Owen needed to die in this episode or follow her to the new job. What is his character development going forward? An alcoholic? He’s clearly never getting over her.

I’m willing to bet that next season he form a friendship (and later get into a relationship) with amelia, they both have a dark past (owen with PTSD, amelia with addiction), have important ‘failed’ relationships (cristina, james), want a family and want to work in a hospital (saying this last point because this seems to be the reason shonda is giving for amelia/james breaking up)

No. That was actually the perfect way for them to end things. When you look back at the amount of times Cristina and Owen have separated, reunited, divorced, separated again, reunited, and separated once more you will see how difficult it is for them to say goodbye to each other and to just move on from each other. They always end up doing the “one last hook-up that never ends”. This was a great way for Cristina to get a clean break from him and to move on with her life. That was the perfect end for them in my opinion. A simple stare and a wave goodbye.

I totally agree with you, they had such a great love but it had so-so ending. I am definitely Owen and Cristina all the way. if cristina isn’t there owen shouldn’t be there. and they better NOT try and fix him up with derek’s sister, it’s either cristina or no body.

As a fan of the Cristina and Owen love affair, I know and recognize that they could not possibly be a forever pairing. I can even say that I understand why their goodbye was written how it played out. These two have such a hard time saying goodbye and letting go, because even though they have so many issues between them, they love each other desperately . So the whole no words spoken, goodbye from afar thing does make sense in a bandaid ripped off quick kind of way. Still, my romance loving heart would have liked to see them speak to each other and have a really deep goodbye scene.

No one’s gonna stop you from being angry, but I personally think that any anger over that ending for Cristina and Owen is completely unncessary. It was a good ending and the people who liked the pairing should be happy to have gotten to see them for this long because really, their relationship should have ended two seasons ago. They had no future together. They loved each other, yes, but they should have moved on from each other right after the abortion storyline. They were never a good fit.

How would be their ending if none of them are willing to sacrífice anything to stay with each other?
With this couple the ‘love of my life’, ‘love desperately’ and so on was overplayed and used and abused by the writers to keep fans under the spell all along. If they truly, truly loved each other desperately, they would have done anything to keep the partner. And, as we saw they didn’t. She chose herself over him and he was no different, he chose himself over her. They could have stayed together if they really wanted. This wasn’t an impossible love. This was a story of two selfish persons who didn’t want to compromise. Where is the great love here?
Shonda never intended this pairing to be together in the end since KMK first appearance.She brought him to play the story she had planned to IW and since the beginning she knew they would never end together, hence why she never, never said they were MFEO. She said that about other couples but never about Crowen. She kept stringing the fans along but the clues were always there. Only were fooled those who did not want to see.

i LOVED that mer and cristina danced it out! it was a great call back to early Grey’s! but that Owen and Cristina scene felt so rushed and unsatisfying..

although if you really think about it, no goodbye between those two was ever going to feel just right. So i guess that’s why Shonda settled for that scene. Plus, Owen and Cristina always had such a great way of communicating through their eyes…. sigh.

Personally I found it very satisfying. The way I saw it was that Christina needed to say goodbye but at the same time could never say goodbye. They’ve established that Christina and Owen can’t help but return to one another even though they are bad for each other. (Or will be as per the sliding doors ep). So with that being said I think they created a beautiful moment between them and the only goodbye either of them could bear. Oh and McKidd were brilliant in that scene. And I may be dating myself here – but I imagine an ending for them a la Nurse Hathaway & Dr. Ross sometime in the future.

The dancing send off was perfect and I liked the way Cristina’s exit was handled. Really disappointed in the secret sister angle – so overdone. I’ve been rewatching the series (1/2 through S4 now) and it’s a shame how they just started trying too hard as the seasons progressed.

For me, the existence of a sister out there doesn’t bother me. Ellis struck me as the type to have given up a kid after having to raise one already while.having a career. My only issue is how did no one know? Or did Thatcher know? Maybe Meredith doesn’t remember? I guess we’ll just have to wait for next season to find out.

Fairly obvious. She was pregnate at the time she left for Boston and Richard dumped her at the carosel while Mer was riding it. She was like 5 years old. Fairly simple thing to do whe ya hardly see ya kid in the first place….

i had forgotten that scene but it seems like the perfect timing! In a later episode Richard mentioned that ellis was finally going to leave thatcher, it would also add more depth as to why ellis was so hard on meredith. She would be bitter about raising a child of a man she didn’t love (thatcher) instead of a man she loved (richard)

I don’t care about a long lost illegitimate daughter. This episode was supposed to be about Yang and they ruined it. Shonda is a fool sending off one of the best characters in TV history with a pathetic send off. She also ruined McKidd’s character. They built up the whole season as the two as star crossed lovers and THAT was the ending???? Seriously?? What a freaking joke.

God, it’s not Shonda’s fault you don’t understand the intricacies of the crowen farewell. That scene was perfect, it was the only goodbye they could have had – otherwise she never would’ve garnered the strength to leave. Everything that needed to be said, every feeling and every emotion was expressed through their eyes, the subtlety of it and their distance (physical and metaphorical) the most powerful thing they could have used to make their goodbye authentic and believable. On the other hand, Meredith and Cristina needed those words – or rather, Cristina needed to SAY those words to Mer (notice how it was mainly Cristina talking?) for her to ever be able to move on. I loved it, every line. Was in tears, it was BEAUTIFUL.

Hmmm. I don’t understand the farewell in a psychological sense? Wow. I think you’re taking it too far as a soccer mom. I just don’t like it and don’t think it fits the storyline that has been preached upon us for years. You don’t show a sliding doors episode which reflects star crossed lovers and make this the ending as it simply doesn’t fit. If Shonda sees things differently, I don’t agree. I’m certainly not stupid for seeing things and unanswered as I’m sure many other fans will feel this is an incomplete ending to their story.

I totally agree. As much as I would have loved to see them have this huge farewell scene, it just wouldn’t be true to their characters. I love Cristina and Owen, but I know that they are not a forever couple. It was a beautifully honest goodbye for them.

The best love story on the show????? I’m sorry, but watching Owen badger Cristina for seasons about having kids seriously undermined her character. Their love story sucks, even if it does have sweet moments. I would much rather watch Mer/Der, Calzona, April/Jackson and especially Jolex scenes any day of the week. HECK, I’d rather watch Izzie and George before Crowen.
AND
oh my god
I forgot about literally the best love story IZZIE AND DENNY

Your opinion. Not everyone’s. I actually liked Yang and Hunt more so this season than I ever did before but I would hardly consider them the best couple on the show. For me, that would be Mer/Der, Callie/Arizona, even Lexie/Mark — all before Cristina and Owen. I am glad the focus was on Meredith and Cristina and not Cristina and Owen. That friendship goes back to season one, episode one. Owen hasn’t even been on the show for more than half of the series.

Clearly you’ve just been watching just to see them hook-up in the on-call rooms each episode if you even remotely think that they are the “best love story”.on this show. Crowen was toxic more than half the time. That was the best ending they could have between each other.

Shonda apparently doesn’t do well with love interests storyline. I wonder if this is a reflection on her personal life? She puts people together and then makes a mess of stuff. It’s tiresome all around. It is tiresome in Scandal. It was tiresome in Private Practice, it’s tiresome in Grey’s.

With that I totaly agree with you. She completely wrecked KMK’s character. If I was in his shoes I would be pissed off. In fact lately we don’t see nor hear much from him anywhere. This one was another to add to his aversion to do Tv series. She turned a honorable, self-giving man into controling, weak, imprudent, selfish serial cheater that half of viewers dislike!

I love the idea that Weber will have a chance to be a father. I think the story line has a lot of merit as a long lost daughter, less so as a long lost sister for Mer. Yang’s goodbye was bittersweet. The only character to get the shaft was Bailey again. Why does Shonda not know what to do with her anymore. She’s so proud weber picked her to succeed cristina and then whammo, Alex gets the gig. Hope she doesn’t start counting scalpels again.

I too hope they don’t pull the same Lexi storyline with Meredith and have her ignore Pierce for the majority of the season. I’d love Mer to be more open especially with how many people she’s lost over the years and now with Cristina gone and Derek possibly living in DC, she should maybe at least be open to trying to welcome all the family and friends she can get.

I thought it was a good episode overall. Cristina’s goodbye seemed fitting I do wish there had been more of a goodbye between her and Owen though. I actually like the surprise sister twist and that she is Richard and Ellis’ daughter it adds a new dynamic. Overall a very strong finale and Cristina will be missed she was the MVP of this season for sure.

I was glad to see Shane fly off to Zurich along with Cristina, and I actually liked how the “bombing” was handled. Debbie Allen’s scene with April was wonderful! But I’m extremely disappointed for Bailey & for what’s inevitably going to happen to her. And poor Owen — must that man always get the short end of the stick? (Shonda, will you PLEASE give Kevin McKidd an actual honest-to-Xenu storyline or two next season?)

The MerDer conflict was not unexpected — with Crowen now officially d.o.a., the happy times for the top couple must now end and the “Big Drama” must now recommence. But Meredith’s selfishness continues to be breath-taking in its scope. If it was the President asking her to working at the NIH, Meredith would SO expect her husband to drop everything and be happy to move to D.C.

And I have no comment about the big “reveal”, other than my eyes still hurt from rolling. Oh jeez.

Cristina got the send-off she deserved. It’s just a shame that GA isn’t going to take hint and go out on a high note as well.

What selfishness? She deserves her career as well, why is his more important, just because he is invited to work with the President? He should take her wants and needs into account. Oh, that’s right, she’s a woman, supposed to kowtow to her man’s career.

I agree, that conflict was real. President or not, it’s how Meredith is feeling. She doesn’t want to be her father, and moves like a puppy after the spouse. Go Mer, for standing up for herself and she represented many women with this. I am a huge MerDer shipper but this was needed and give for some great drama next season.

Just because his title/job is “bigger” doesn’t mean it is best for them or him or more important in the long run. Many couples have long distance marriages if they want that career, she’s allowed her desires to have her life as she wants it, even if he was elected President.

She ruined Derricks chances of being chief the first time around and destroyed his trial. She constantly puts her own actions above everyone elses. Shes not as talent as she thinks she is and she holds people down to make herself feel better.

@Jessica: Meredith has her flaws, but she is far from the selfish bitch you seem to make her out to be. Meredith pushed Cristina to go and start her new life despite what that would mean for their friendship and losing her person. She cares for her family and friends. She’s been like a sister to Alex. She’s constantly supported Derek and while she’s made mistakes in the past, she has currently been making quite the many sacrifices. Raising the kids, being a surgeon, and working on her research all while Derek is off in DC with the POTUS offering her very little help. Also “she’s not as talented as she thinks she is” sounds like a very childish thing to say. Meredith is very talented and smart and would not have reached where she was if she wasn’t.

I can’t say I’ve always been a fan of Meredith. But I think she was more than right to voice her rash l feelings on the matter. Ultimately, its deeper than the job and more about the attitude behind it.

Meredith was absolutely right in taking a stand on wanting to stay. Derek has always been quite self-absorbed from Day 1 and viewed himself as superior. Not to mention this is the second time he’s tried to get her to leave Seattle (he wanted her to take a position in Boston so he could have his position). He doesn’t sacrifice as much as she does and his career is always seen as more important. And it’s not just with Meredith. The Callie/Derek research fight was not too long ago. President or not, he doesn’t really take into account what she wants.
—
Also, I feel no disappointment for the current Bailey. A few seasons ago, I would feel sorry for her having to compete with Alex for the position because she was clearly deserving, but the current Bailey we’ve seen for the past two seasons is not the character I used to love. She’s unethical, unapologetic, dangerous, shows no remorse for her actions and doesn’t care for the consequences and the fact that she is even currently a contender for the Board position is absolutely ridiculous. Really? They’re gonna reward her for almost getting the hospital sued by giving her a prestigious position?

REALLY?!! Mer was the one selfish here. So, he broke his promise to her in the first place .Took the mat under her feet when she was counting with his support, support he promised, and she’s the selfish one? He’s a selfish liar with no integrity. What he basicaly was saying was: bummed, but this is more important than your career and the obligations I assumed within the family. Good by, my life is first. Wait your turn, maybe when you’re 150 y o.
Very bappy Mer set him in line. The nerve. He was asking for, for a long time. This is a rather common male behavior. Family first when there’s nothing better professionaly out there. As soon they have an excuse to fly, they conveniently and quickly forget they have duties at home and discard the least exciting part of the family over the partner. LIfe is made of choices. Derek has to deal with the fact he can’t have everything. He has to choose like an adult. Not trying to have everything at Mer expense.

– I thought that having Richard and Ellis having a baby will add a different dynamic from when Lexi popped up in Meredith’s life. I mean this is the woman that raised Mere and she kept this huge secret from her and Richard.

– I love that Owen did not follow Cristina to Vienna. Now he can find someone that will make him happy and give him everything that Cristina wouldn’t.

– Yang giving Alex her shares in the hospital may have been the nicest and most selfless thing she did in ten years on the show.

Ellis and Webber having a baby and her giving it up for adoption, I can get behind. However, Mer said they met when she was 3, so Mer is at least 4 years older than “new Lexi” and she’s already head of Cardio? Now that’s a stretch!

The girl from Emily Owen is Meredith sister. Not a shocker. Don’t get to attached. She probably will die next season by falling air conditioner. So to be safe she needs to stay away from Meredith. I’F SHE WANTS TO LIVE.

I had predicted quite a bit of this episode (shane leaving with cristina, owen worried that cristina was a victim, cristina giving alex her board shares) but it was a fitting end to cristina and I liked that meredith and cristina ‘danced it out’ one last time. I LOVED the throwback to where does the good go by tegan and sarah, SUCH a fitting song. It was previously used (i think S1) when ellis grey’s scrub nurse was dying and everyone in the hospital was in her room to see her go. It was so refreshing to finally have a moment without an acoustic 80s cover

i knew i recognized the song from a previous grey’s episode but couldn’t remember where it was from! I just rewatched the scene on youtube and I agree it really is the perfect song, cristina doesn’t want to ‘let go’ of the patient and here she is finally letting go of the hospital. A great full circle moment

great catch! I agree it was really refreshing to FINALLY have a moment without an 80s cover, mind you I like the original versions of the 80s songs in last nights episode but all the covers sound the same – just slow down the tempo and sing it kind of sadly. This has definitely been grey’s worst soundtrack year

THANK YOU for saying that! I liked it the first time they slowed down an 80’s song, but now it’s EVERY episode! And they don’t EVER seem to go with what’s going on in the show. A few weeks ago, they actually used “We built this city”! WHAT?!?

I think that based on current view of the two characters over the past few seasons, Alex is definitely the more deserving one at this moment in the time of the show. The show has destroyed the Bailey character over these past two seasons.

I loved it! I LOVED IT! I think I wasn’t as heartbroken as I expected to be because we already knew Cristina’s end game. I’m glad that Shane went with her – they’ve always had a great working relationship (not going there). It was poetic to me that Mer had to literally put her in the cab and shove her out of the nest. And I stood up and danced it out with them. I loved Cristina’s last words to Alex and Mer. I also don’t think she could have said goodbye to Owen. She couldn’t have left and he wouldn’t have been able to let her go. #FarewellToCristina
I’m sorry for Bailey. I think the struggle between her and Alex will be epic next year. I can’t decide which of them I want to have the seat. It’ll be interesting to watch. I’m happy for Callie and Arizona. The answer was so obvious all along. I love Alex and I’m glad Cristina gave him a way to remain at the hospital. A good send off for Leah.
So – I don’t know whose side I’m on between Mer/Der. Yes, it’s a one in a lifetime opportunity. But, yes, her career is just as significant. And she’s just as brilliant. One of the quintessential relationships of this show is in major danger. Wow.
And, Holy Hell! Richard has a daughter? Maybe?! For sure, Mer has another sister! Gobsmacked, utterly. I’m SO looking forward to next season. But I will miss Cristina.

For everyone that thinks the show should end, then end it! It’s that simple. Don’t turn your television on when shows you don’t like are on. This is the only show I watch. One hour once a week, and I would be disappointed if it ended. I hope to see Sandra as a guest on the show every now and then.

This was one of only three shows I watched every week. No more until I hear Oh is back. Shonda messed this one up. Much like the Izzie hallucination year. Luckily, the Blacklist is on at nine on Thursdays after the Superbowl next year.

the twist at the end was not that surprising… shonda created lexie to be the ‘grey’ in greys anatomy if meredith/ellen happens to leave the show at the end of season 8, but meredith/ellen didnt leave and lexie was killed off instead… i think meredith/ellen is most likely going to leave after season 12, which is probably why meredith/ellen signs two more years to give the character a proper sendoff and for shonda to set up a new ‘grey’ for people to be invested in in order for the show to go on…

Shonda never created Lexie to be ‘the new Grey’, that all came from some reporter asking Cyler Leigh if she WANTED to be the Grey if EP ever left and she said she’d be honored. Shonda has since said (more than once) that it was never her intention. Anyway, now that the hospital is called Grey Sloan there’s no need for a character named Grey to be on the show.

Not enough Sandra in her send off ep as far as I’m concerned. They had to spend too much time cleaning up all the loose ends. I did love their dance at the end though.

The new Grey daughter didn’t impress me at all. That’s just plain lazy writing. It’s been done with Lexi. And Ellis was always at work. How could she have hidden a pregnancy?

I found the twist with Christina leaving Alex her shares and her seat much more interesting. That should lead to some great conflict since Richard has now given that seat to Bailey. he might argue that he had the right to do that but since Alex is now a partner, it won’t be easy to say no to him.

First off, Yang’s exit really was perfect… Dang you Shonda for keeping me guessing the entire episode on whether or not she was going to get killed off.

Second, and more importantly… Mer has another sister?!?!?!?!?! Could it be that Ellis gave up a baby with Richard that he didn’t know about?!?!? I had thought for a minute that maybe she would say her mother was Catherine Avery, but when she said her name was all over the hospital, I was just like DANG, HER MOM IS ELLIS GREY! OMG IS SHE ALSO RICHARD’S DAUGHTER?!!?!? before she even said her mom was Ellis.

I really enjoyed April and Catherine’s scene. I just wish it wouldn’t have felt so rushed. Also looks like CalZona are going to go the surrogate route OR they are going to ask a friend to be a surrogate… if that’s the case then I think they’ll ask Jo. It makes sense, she’s gotten closer with Callie this season and Arizona and Alex are very close. I’m pretty conflicted on who I think should get the seat on the board. Between Bailey and Alex, it could go either way. I figured Shane was going to go with Christina.

I’m surprised it took Meredith THAT long to explode like she did. All it took was for Amy/Amelia to say she wanted to get out of his shadow. I love them as a family in their personal life but professionally, she has always been in his shadow and she always will be until she does something on her own.

I’m really stoked Alex is gonna get it (hopefully lol) instead of Bailey. When they were talking about an empty spot and then Alex & Cristina chatting in the OR, I was hoping it would somehow get offered to Karev instead. Bailey’s character has been assassinated so badly over the last few seasons and she no longer deserves a place on the board!

I could not possibly have been happier with this episode. Yes, it set up interesting stuff for next season and all that, but Cristina’s exit was all I hoped it would be. They danced it out to an awesome song by the amazing Tegan and Sara who have had tons of music on the show and was perfecting fitting. She gave Meredith what she needed to hear, the ‘you’re my person’ line was there, perfect good bye with Owen and I loved how Cristina gave Alex her part of the hospital. Nothing seemed more fitting to me than for her to pass that on to him.
Everything was perfect. So sad to see her go, but I loved every minute of it.

You summed up all my feelings. This episode absolutely wrecked me. From Cristina bringing up the five of them and where they started and how it was just her, Mer, and Alex left, to the Dance party to all the hugs she was giving people. And I have to say how happy I was that they included an Alex/Cristina scene and when she told Mer that she needs to mock him once a day. It was a very emotional episode to get through but it was such a fitting end to such a beloved character.

Awesome finale! Yang will be missed but I like the twist with a new Grey sister. Bailey needs to get back to her old self and set it up for her to be Chief like Weber told her before. I like the tension between Mer and Derrick. I’m glad to see her take a stand. Very interested in next season.

Wow what a fantastic episode and send off to such an amazing character. Dancing it out for the last time made me cry and the Crowen goodbye scene was perfect. Cristina was never going to leave if she had any interaction with Owen. As for the long lost daughter of Ellis, I think this is definitely going to be a storyline based around Richard and not Meredith. If she really cared about finding her sister she would have connected with her in the past two weeks she was there. It seems like she just wants to find out more about her parents. Also, no one can replace Lexie anyway.

I really enjoyed the episode, BUT I still really want to know why they never found out the reason why all the kids in that family kept having heart failure? I mean one after another for no reason? I need a reason!

Ugh who cares about the stupid secret daughter? Can we all focus on the greatness that was Cristina this episode? I’m so pumped she left her seat on the board to Karev. I was hoping she would – I don’t think Bailey has a place there. All the Cristina/Meredith moments were perfection and I like that they had Shane go with her. I wasn’t sure how his departure was gonna work so it was nice to see that. Pretty much started sobbing around the time Cristina told Meredith she isn’t finished there and didn’t stop lol

Nice story. Tied up a lot of loose ends. Didn’t have a @@@#$ “To be Continued” at the end but managed to set up next season. Surprised more people didn’t think it was the fitting conclusion.

Can’t wait until the new doc starts finding out things about her birth mother. And will Richard seek medical test to confirm what is obviously going to be his kid? And while Cristina’s gift to Karev resolves his “do I or don’t I leave”, it should have some interesting issues when Bailey finds out that she is not getting the place (or will she anyway?)

Maybe Ellis didn’t mention the baby in her “Alzheimer’s rants” about Richard because she didnt know the baby was definitely his. She had the baby but chose not to hold her after the birth (for those who would argue noticing a baby with a darker akin yome

Enjoyed the episode immensely! Also it gave me a feeling of “until we meet again” with Cristina and not a goodbye. It should be an interesting season when it returns with the dynamic of Alex vs. Bailey and the reveal of another daughter of Ellis. Also the living arrangements of Meredith and Derek hopefully will be determined by then as well. I appreciate Meredith sticking up for herself and refusing to fade into the background. Married career women every where should echo her sentiments if they have career driven spouses that are not supportive. I will miss Cristina and at first did not think I would watch the show next season since she would not be there, but after this episode, I have reached the conclusion that I will most definitely be watching!

I’m very disappointed with the ending.Aside from Cristina’s brief last minute dance with Meredith, tge whoke show had nothing exciting, let alone shed tears about. Shonada has some explaining to do. Cristina, Owen, and the audiance deserved much more than this soap-quality ending. Grrrrrr

hahaha, saw the sister coming miles away. when lexie died and the actress left the show, Shonda was in the air as who will take over in case (when) Mer leaves (aka Ellen P). ‘the sister’ has always been a safety net. a way to keep the show alive after Mer. or a spin off. it’s the main reason why she brought Lexie in, in the first place.

Yeah and I remember several years ago they were trying to cast a mixed race make actor for that role but they ended up not going with it. I’m guessing the loss of cast members caused changes to storylines.

Overall I liked this episode even though I was on the edge of my seat the whole time thinking “Something’s gonna happen, something’s gonna happen Cristina won’t get to leave she’ll die like all the others” but I was clearly wrong! This episode was a proper send off and I loved every interaction she had with every characters (especially the one she had with Alex).
Other than that I find it strange that April does not try to find the boy after the father tells her the boy in recovery was not his… It reminded me of the episode with the ferry accident back in season 3 where George kept searching for a little boy who had been separated from his mother and he eventually found him in Callie’s OR.
As for the seat on the board I was happy Richard wanted to give it to Bailey but when Alex found the papers I was even more happy. I think it’s going to create some drama for next season but I’d like it better if it was Alex who got the seat.
April/Jackson Callie/Arizona liked their storylines and for once they weren’t the center of attention. Mer/Der well some more drama coming their way, as always. I really hope Amelia is going to stay next year but since they brought in the long lost daughter of Richard & Ellis I don’t think it’s gonna happen.
And now this! When she said she’d been adopted I immediately knew she was Richard’s daughter. Never imagined she’d be Ellis’ as well. In my opinion this storyline is going to revolve around Richard essentialy. Indeed it’s been two years since she knows she’s Ellis Greys’ daughter, she most certainly knows she is Meredith’s sister but she never revealed herself. Plus she’s been working there two weeks and she never approached her to tell her unlike Lexie who blurted it out to her on her first day. Lexie stayed in Seattle to be with her father and she jumped on the chance to get to know her sister. Here I didn’t get the feeling that it was her intentions. She just happen to be working where her mother used to work and where her father and sister are curently working at.